Newshour Extra

What does the future hold for human space exploration? With more countries getting involved and costs falling, increasingly ambitious projects are being proposed. Is a permanent base on the Moon feasible? Are there vast mineral resources to be harvested in space? Will our descendants be forced to abandon planet Earth to live elsewhere? Join Owen Bennett Jones and his panel of extra-terrestrial experts – including science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson – as they discuss humanity’s future in space. This week's contributors: Lord Martin Rees, British Astronomer Royal; Dr Jill Stuart, specialist in space politics at the London School of Economics; Monica Grady, Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at the Open University; Dr David Parker, chief executive of the UK Space Agency.(Picture credit: NASA)

Why are so many Eritreans fleeing their country? With a population of just six million, this young country in the Horn of Africa has accounted for the third largest flow of refugees into Europe this year, behind only Syria and Afghanistan. Join Owen Bennett Jones and his panel of guests on Newshour Extra this week as we try to understand the forces driving hundreds of thousands of Eritreans risking their lives in the hope of a better future.Contributors: Ahmed Mohammed Mahmud, Chairman of the British Eritrean Community Organisation Network Feruz Werede, Eritrean human rights activist Bronwyn Bruton, Deputy Director of the Atlantic Council's Africa Centre Ghirmai Negash, Professor of English and African literature, Ohio University Alex Last, former BBC correspondent in EritreaPhoto Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Our world is getting warmer despite the best efforts of the scientists, politicians and diplomats. A global agreement in Paris on mitigating greenhouse gas emissions may help slow the rise in temperature, but it's rising nonetheless. What might the world look like if the temperature keeps rising? There will be many losers – but who are the likely winners? And what does humanity need to do to adapt to the inevitable changes ahead? Owen Bennett Jones and a star cast of guests discuss how humanity can survive in a warming world.Contributors: James Lovelock - Environmentalist and originator of Gaia theory; Heather McGray - Director of the Vulnerability & Adaptation programme at the World Resources Institute in Washington, DC; Saleemul Huq - Director, International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh; Mark Maslin - Professor of Climatology at University College London; McKenzie Funk - Journalist and author of 'Windfall' Rutger de Graaf - Delta Sync a Dutch company developing climate-ada

Remarkable new techniques for ‘editing’ DNA – chemically cutting and splicing sections of genetic code – are revolutionising research in laboratories around the world. The potential for eradicating hereditary diseases is enormous. But are the benefits outweighed by the risks involved? And should these techniques ever be used on humans? On Newshour Extra this week, Owen Bennett Jones and his panel of expert guests discuss the scientific and ethical consequences of this latest research, and ask whether mankind should be tinkering with our genetic inheritance.Contributors: Prof Robin Lovell-Badge - Head of Stem Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics at the Francis Crick Institute; Michael Le Page -New Scientist magazine; Dr Annelien Bredenoord - Associate Professor of Biomedical Ethics at the University Medical Centre in Utrecht; Marcy Darnovsky - Executive Director of the Center for Genetics and Society, Berkeley, California; James Rushbrooke - playwrite; Edward Perello - co-founder of Desktop GeneticsPho

The rise of the Islamic State group has been both shocking and unprecedented. With ever more violent attacks on civilian targets come outpourings of anger and frustration at the inability of governments and security services to defeat them. The aftermath of the Paris attacks has been no exception. President Hollande has spoken of waging a “pitiless war” against those responsible. Amid the atrocities committed by IS, it’s difficult to perceive a coherent ideology. So in this week’s Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss where the group came from, what its leaders want, and whether it’s succeeding in its aims. In understanding such motivations, are we better equipped to defeat it?This week's contributors: Jason Burke - Guardian newspaper and author of "The New Threat from Islamic Militancy"; Jessica Stern - Harvard lecturer and the co-author of "ISIS: The State of Terror"; Hassan Hassan - Chatham House and co-author of "ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror"; Ghias Aljundi -Syrian writer and hum

In December, the World Trade Organisation will hold major talks in Nairobi, Kenya – the first time ever one of its high-level summits has been in Africa. Global trade has brought enormous economic benefits, but has the WTO failed in its prime directive to “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” through more equitable trading relationships? Is the world trade regime fair, or is the game fundamentally rigged against developing countries? And as the major powers increasingly turn to regional agreements like the recent Trans-Pacific Partnership, does the WTO even matter anymore?Join Owen Bennett-Jones and his panel of experts, including a former director general of the WTO, as they discuss the future of global trade, and whether developing countries can ever reap the benefits.(picture credit: Getty images)

When Obama first came to office there was a huge amount of global expectation riding on his foreign policy. He promised to heal the breach with the Islamic world, restore America’s good name, and fight fewer wars. But as his time in the White House draws to a close, how should we judge Obama’s record? Is the world a safer place now than when he took office? And behind all the policy making, is there an over-riding vision – what commentators have called “an Obama doctrine”? Join Owen Bennett-Jones and a panel of global experts, as they discuss President Obama’s foreign policy legacy and America’s place in the world today. (Photo: President Obama addresses US troops in Afghanistan, May 2014. Credit: Getty Images)

More than two years after the overthrow of elected president Mohammed Morsi, Egyptians are going to the polls in the final stage of a promised return to parliamentary democracy. Morsi, whose government was backed by the Muslim Brotherhood, remains in jail; President Sisi, who led the overthrow of Morsi’s government, has been accused of treating his opponents harshly - and press freedoms have been severely curtailed. So, is this democratic process meaningful, or merely a veil for control by the military establishment? Join Owen Bennett Jones and his guests as they discuss Egypt’s democratic path.(Photo: Egyptian protesters. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

The Arctic is the fastest-warming region of the globe, with temperatures rising at least twice as quickly as the rest of the planet. While that means hardship for much of the area’s wildlife and indigenous peoples, it’s also creating many opportunities. As the ice melts, new, lucrative shipping routes are opening up and improving access to potential new oil fields, while valuable minerals are being discovered under vanishing glaciers.But with new opportunities comes increased interest. In the past few years Arctic countries have expanded their presence in the Far North, opening new military bases and building powerful new icebreakers. They’ve also been trying to further expand their borders under the Arctic Ocean - with three countries claiming ownership of the North Pole.Will the Arctic become the next "Great Game"? Could this competition lead to conflict? Or have negotiations in the Arctic so far proven that it can remain a zone of co-operation?Owen Bennett Jones presents a special edition of Newshour Extra

As European leaders gather in Brussels to discuss the many crises facing the continent, we ask whether the Union can survive the multiple shocks of migration, economic stress and the possibility of losing at least one of its key members. Join Owen Bennett-Jones and his panel in Brussels as they discuss the future of Europe. Has the dream of its founders, that of ever closer economic and political union, fallen victim to pragmatic survival?(Photo: European Union flag. Credit: Thinkstock)

A special edition of Newshour Extra, recorded at the annual conference of the governing UK Conservative Party, discussing appropriate responses to Russia's actions in Ukraine and Syria. Should EU and US sanctions, imposed following Russia's annexation of Crimea, be re-assessed or perhaps used as a bargaining chip in negotiations over joint military action in Syria? Join James Coomarasamy for this week's debate in front of a live audience as they discuss the question: should the West be doing business with Putin’s Russia?Photo credit: Alexander Nemenova/AFP/Getty Images

When former CIA employee Edward Snowden blew the lid on the extent of digital surveillance by western governments two years ago, it sparked a fierce debate about the rights of citizens to privacy versus the duty of governments to protect against the threat of global terror. Having been exposed as colluding with these surveillance programmes, communications companies have recently sought to distance themselves from state monitoring and new technologies are emerging designed to give consumers the option of greater privacy. In this week’s Newshour Extra, Owen Bennett Jones and his guests discuss whether Snowden’s revelations have been a gift to terrorists or whether personal freedoms have been rescued from the grip of Big Brother.(Photo: Digital art of a human eye. Credit: Science Photo Library)

Should political leaders be subject to term limits? Is power so intoxicating that too much of it sends you mad? There are those in power who seem convinced that if they stood aside the consequences would be disastrous, but perhaps allowing them to remain is far more damaging. The US has term limits on its national leaders, most of Europe does not. So why do European countries often insist that African leaders should step down after two terms in office. Join Owen Bennett Jones and his distinguished panel of guests as they discuss the merits and abuses of personal power.Photo: Getty Images/ Jacques-Louis David's 1801 painting of Napoleon Bonaparte Crossing the Alps by the Great Saint Bernard Pass

Owen Bennett Jones and his guests are in Islamabad to discuss who is actually governing Pakistan. Two years into the civilian premiership of Nawaz Sharif, there is much talk of the growing influence of the military in all the key decisions. The army chief Raheel Sharif is also increasingly in the public eye, with what appears to be a concerted social media campaign to raise his national profile. Are the men in uniform treating the civilian government as a democratic veneer for martial law by stealth? What are the consequences for both Pakistan and its neighbours?(Photo: Raheel Sharif (left). Credit: AFP/Getty Images. Nawaz Sharif (right). Credit: Getty Images)

The Greek government is facing a critical test. Wracked with debt, can it keep its economy afloat whilst staying within the European currency zone? And if it does fail to reach a deal with creditors over the coming days, what would be the consequences of a default? In this week's programme, we look at Argentina, which went through its own economic crisis over a decade ago, eventually defaulting on its debts. What happened next for Argentina? Did it recover or did it become a financial pariah - shunned by bankers and lending institutions? Did it achieve sustained long term growth or lurch from crisis to crisis? Join Owen Bennett Jones and his panel of expert guests to discuss what lessons there are for Greece in the Argentinian experience.(Photo: Workers of an Argentine shoe factory light a bonfire outside the Foreign Ministry, as they protest against the importation of Brazils shoes. The poster reads One Brazilian shoe is more misery for Argentina. Credit: AP)

This week a young British suicide-bomber has been killed in Iraq; three sisters travelled to Syria taking their children along with them; and a white British muslim convert died fighting with the Somali islamist group al-Shabab. What motivated them to leave the UK to support jihadist causes abroad? We consider the influences on them, and ask what can be done to counter such radicalisation. Join Razia Iqbal and her distinguished panel of guests as they discuss these issues on Newshour Extra.(Photo: This image posted on a militant website is said by his parents to be Talha Asmal, the British 17-year-old who killed himself in a suicide bombing in Iraq. Credit: AP)

Have we lost our fear of the bomb? And, how successful have efforts been to limit its spread? Seventy years ago, the very first nuclear weapon was detonated by the US army in the deserts of New Mexico. Since then, diplomats and politicians have sought to strictly limit the number of nations capable of following suit – and after years of tortuous negotiation a deal has finally been reached to limit Iran’s ability to construct its own bomb. So what is the state of the nuclear threat today? Join Owen Bennett Jones and his distinguished panel of experts, including former nuclear inspector Hans Blix and former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw as they discuss how safe the world now is from nuclear catastrophe.(Photo: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds up a graphic of a bomb. Credit: Reuters)

***This broadcast features an interview with an individual, 28, referred to as Macer Gifford. We have been asked to clarify that this is not his real name but a pseudonym.*** For millions of Kurds in the Middle East, the drive for a state of their own has been a long and - to date - vain pursuit. But with Kurdish fighters winning the fight against the forces of the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, does that improve their prospects? Or will any gratitude from the international community for their efforts be short lived come tomorrow? How far can Kurds rely on the United States for help? Join David Eades and his panel of experts as they discuss the question - will the world ever allow an independent Kurdistan?(Photo: The flag of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, PKK. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Five and a half years ago Haiti was hit by a massive earthquake, affecting three million people. It was already the poorest country in the Americas, and the disaster prompted an unprecedented response – including the largest-ever humanitarian appeal launched by the UN in the wake of a natural disaster. Haiti is now choosing its new parliament and the Prime Minister has described the elections as a “significant moment” for the country.So is Haiti a “republic of NGOs” or a burgeoning democracy? Is it an example of the success of aid, or the poster child of “disaster capitalism”? Join Owen Bennett Jones and his panel of experts as they discuss how the international community can make sure that its response to natural disasters doesn’t do more harm than good.Photo: A US Navy helicopter by Haiti's presidential palace, shortly after the January 2010 earthquake. Photo credit: AP Photo

In the past two months over 200 Chinese lawyers and their associates have been detained – some have even vanished completely. The Chinese government says that they’ve been abusing their positions to influence the outcome of court decisions, and “breaching laws for personal profits”. The lawyers say that the crackdown is a politically-motivated attempt to discredit them and curtail their activities.Less than a year ago the Chinese Communist Party held its annual plenary session, focused on a specific theme: the rule of law. That’s the idea that, among other things, nobody should be above the law, and nobody should be punished except according to the law, after a fair trial in front of an independent judge. But the Party emphasised that they would pursue a rule of law with specifically “Chinese characteristics”. What does that mean?Join Owen Bennett Jones and a panel of experts as they discuss the state of the rule of law in China. Do ordinary people have access to justice? And how is the Chinese legal system